Moffat County High School’s Nathan Tomlin, top, tries to pin an opponent during the regional wrestling tournament Saturday at Mullen High School in Denver. Tomlin, who wrestles in the 152-pound weight class, finished first at the regional tournament and will represent Moffat County at the state meet Thursday to Saturday in Denver.

MCHS wrestling team 4th at regional

4 Bulldogs wrestlers qualify for state meet

Moffat County High School’s Cody Adams, top, pins Vista Ridge’s Brandon Clang to advance to Saturday’s championship round at the regional wrestling meet. Adams, who wrestles in the 189-pound class, placed second at the regional meet and advanced to the state meet.

Individual results

Individual winners from the regional wrestling tournament:

Name School Weight

Jace Lopez Roosevelt 103

Justin Ray Palisade 112

Daniel Salazar Palisade 119

C.J. York Roosevelt 125

Presley Papachek Roosevelt 130

Casey Lynn Montezuma-Cortez 135

James Martinez Rifle 140

Charlie Griffiths Moffat County 145

Nathan Tomlin Moffat County 152

Blake Nygen Roosevelt 160

Bryce Gaber Montrose 171

Jordan Passehl Montrose 189

Braxten Franz Montrose 215

Caleb Ayers Montezuma-Cortez 285

If Charlie Griffiths didn’t know about sacrifice, he learned Saturday night at the regional wrestling tournament in Denver.

Moffat County High School’s 145-pound entrant had to hurt himself to help his chances of winning his weight class.

In the end, the price of pain was worth the reward, Griffiths said.

“In the third period I chose down, and (Palisade’s Wesley Shingleton) caught me,” he said. “I reversed really hard, but I was stuck on my back, and I was really close to being pinned. I had one arm out, and I kind of dislocated my shoulder and snuck through the other arm. I’ll probably be hurting a little bit (Sunday) morning.”

Griffiths was able to hold on and win, 12-6, to give the MCHS junior his first regional victory.

More importantly, Griffiths, along with 152-pound champion Nathan Tomlin, Cody Adams (who finished second) and Ben Winslow (fourth) get to continue their season at the Thursday to Saturday state meet at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Scott Mann and Cody Nelson just missed giving Moffat County six state-bound competitors, as both wrestlers finished fifth.

Moffat County brought 11 wrestlers to Mullen High School for regionals.

The Bulldogs finished fourth overall, and Roosevelt High School claimed the regional crown.

Wrestling against No. 1 seed Shingleton for the second time in a week, Griffiths said he made the right adjustments.

“It was close,” he said. “He beat me the first time I wrestled him last weekend, 10-5. I knew I had to do something this weekend, so I worked hard on my cardio and attacked him.”

The 12-6 win was Griffiths’ first regional title.

“My best (finish) was third,” he said. “So, this is a big step up for me. I feel really good right now.”

Griffiths said he will continue to build up endurance as he prepares for the state meet.

“If I keep pushing the pace with everyone, I should be a state champ,” he said.

For the second straight year, Moffat County will send four wrestlers to the state tournament.

Griffiths and Tomlin return, and Adams and Winslow are two new faces.

Last year, Jesse Breslin and Cody Nelson joined Griffiths and Tomlin at the state tournament.

Wrestling on Saturday as the No. 1 seed, Tomlin breezed into the finals.

The first round saw the MCHS senior boss around Roosevelt’s Raul Maldonado in the first round of the championship round.

But Maldonado refused to be pinned.

“At the beginning of the match I felt really good,” Tomlin said. “I felt like I was going to dominate like I always do. We got into the later periods, and I started gassing really fast. I just had to hang in there.”

Having missed time with injuries and coming off a cold, Tomlin said his endurance hasn’t returned in full.

But luck struck for Tomlin in the form of a bloody nose.

Late in the third round, with the score 4-3, Tomlin had a short timeout to patch up a bloody nose, which gave the senior time to rest.

“I had a little time to rest,” he said. “I guess I was just mustering up the energy to win the match.

“I was just keeping myself in it to win it, and I just needed a little energy to win the match.”